Let me just say I HATE DROW. The DnD anti-elves really annoy the heck out of me. They are annoying two hit die monsters. They have become hugely popular because of some well written DnD fiction books. Yet, they don't make sense. So lets try again.

Shelandra looks the part of a powerful Necromantic Sorceress. She is tall, pale, and coldly beautiful. She has a castle that always seems to have a storm over it. She has pet monsters. She has a small personal army of Skeletons. She scares the peasants and makes the local nobles uneasy. However, if pressed, nobody can actually recall her doing anything really Evil.

When my first born came into the world, my gaming life skidded to a halt. However, in a strange way, my gaming life continued.

The Ring of Fire is an ancient artifact that possess great power over fire, according to the legends. It has passed from the fingers of heroes to the finger of heroes many time over the ages. It is a pity the bards don't record the annoying details of this item, another Legacy of Corvus.

The world is full of different measurement systems. Some are old, some new, some obvious, some obscure. Each one is important enough to some group of people to be codified and passed down through the years. These are the ones that might be useful for gamers.

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger:
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home.
And freedom, oh freedom,
Well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking,
Through this world all alone.

It is a simple child's toy, that has granted its owner good fortune. Unfortunately things are never quite what they seem, especially when Corvus is involved.

Most towers and baileys are defensive, protecting defenders from attackers. This keep tower and bailey is used to protect everyone else from what is within.

Sometimes, you just need a new plot.

The Shield District is the old Orcen Mercenary Quarter. It is called the Shield District because Orcen always carried their shields. In terms of buildings, it looks the same as the rest of the town, perhaps a bit more run down. The signs are both in Orcen and the Local tongue. The only differences are The Pits.

Something occured and those in the grand city went mad. Was it a curse, a prophecy, a spell gone wrong, or a magik item opened? Nobody allegedly knows. The city guard on the city walls, saw the madness and were apparently not touched. They tried to keep the crazy ones inside, by blocking the gates and sealing the entrances to the large city wall. The region's leader, eventually sent the Army there to reinforce the city guards, to hold the mad ones in. Since the mad men are incredibly strong and immune to pain, if they escape it would be a plague upon the land. There is still hope that someday they could be restored (perhaps a royal heir or a royal household was in the city). Perhaps they are nearly immortal. The city guards who occasionally decend into the city to drop supplies and stop fires believe that to be true.

Now it is a small town, with its own walls, that rings the old grand city. Over the years, the army and guards, have created a town that supports them. They think themselves immune to the madness, yet their proximity to them, means they are only slightly odd... perhaps becoming mad. The crazed watch over the mad. A running joke is that someday, someone will man their walls to hold them in.

Exerpt from the Introduction:
I know the ultimate weapon. Humans commit folly after folly because they are afraid. Fear was once Humankind's most powerful ally, giving enormous potency to the instinct for suvival. Now, fear has become Humankind's greatest enemy, and such is the obtusemenss of my species that is members do not realize it is the most powerful element of Human existance.

Gar Eeels live in the large,weed choked rivers and lakes that cover much of the Powi lands,are are revered as godlings by these primitive people. Many shamans say that the power to control the rains, rest with the Gar Eeel or Messengers of the rains, as they are known by the tribes.

These are minor things that can be dropped in anywhere to add "narrative flavor", to make it more than just another road, field, forest or beach.

Many years ago, a trader from far away died while in The City. One of the entries of his possessions was a "bag of 220 beautiful coyns". These coins were sold to a crafter who sold some of them and made others into hat band decorations, jewelry, bag clips, and so on. It was years later that someone discovered their true worth and their power. They make things move.

Everytime you look at something in The City, there is something going on behind it. It is a moment caught in the tangles of time of some other persons life. It is those little moments that make The City seem so alive.

I am not a normal fantasy GM. If a player is delving through a dark tomb searching for loot in my campaign, he is probably on a fruitless quest. I dislike the dungeon crawl. I have since the earliest years of DnD. I mean where in Tolkein did they really crawl through a dungeon or other tomb/ place of mystery?

The Signet Ring of the House Malenti (minor noble house) has more than a minor political power associated with it. It 'seals the soul' of any it touches (with intent).

This crystal looks like just another babble, like a multifaceted lead glass paperweight found in any stationary store. This hides its sinister purpose

You have what?! On your equipment list? For real?